The same Wisconsin defense that let former Iowa tailback Shonn Greene wreak offensive havoc — compiling 217 rushing yards, four touchdowns and 25 carries — has progressed past the team’s previous miscues.
No. 11 Iowa will travel to Camp Randall Stadium in Madison for the Badgers’ Homecoming without junior wideout Paul Chaney Jr. Wisconsin is 52-44-5 in its Homecoming games, winning the last five since head coach and former Iowa player and coach Bret Bielema joined the football staff.
Defensive end O’Brien Schofield credits the augmented conditioning regiment by new strength coach Ben Herbert for the improvement in the team’s stats.
“What we did in the off-season, I can’t even explain,” Schofield told ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “I improved my strike. I just feel so much more explosive. The things we did in the weight room, it definitely got my confidence up.
“I basically built my own little swagger.”
In 2008, Schofield totaled 33 tackles, and now, last week’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week is in the position to surpass last season’s count— he has tallied 33.
Schofield’s 2009 stats reveal how important the senior’s explosiveness has been for Wisconsin. He leads the nation with 14.5 tackles for loss (no other player is above 12) and tops the Big Ten in sacks with 6.5.
As a team, the 5-1 Badgers are tied for 24th nationally with 16 sacks, averaging two per game.
Wisconsin’s defense is anchored by Schofield, Dan Moore, Patrick Butrym, and J.J. Watt, while the offense is equipped with leading Big Ten rusher John Clay. Clay has rushed for 641 yards and seven touchdowns this year, which may be a reason ESPN.com’s AccuScore predicts a Badger victory.
The 10,000 simulations of the matchup averaged a 25-22 Wisconsin win.
Three of Iowa’s six victories have been decided by four points or fewer this year, and Iowa linebacker Pat Angerer expects more games to be close.
“Coach said we probably are not going to be in a lot of blow-out games,” he said. “ We are going to be in more two-point games. We’ve been there before, and I am sure we’ll be there some more.
“The key is just to keep fighting, keep following through and believing in each other.”
While Iowa’s offense ranks ninth in scoring and eight in rushing, junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi said the Hawkeyes cohesive mindset is to improve upon every performance. So far, that’s led to a 6-0 overall record for an early bowl birth.
“[We are] doing what we can to fix our mistakes from last week, and once we do that, you kind of just let everything take care of itself,” Stanzi said. “You are not too concerned whether it will be a close game or not. You expect it to be a close game. Every game is tough.”
